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Recipe Blog

LET FOOD BE THY MEDICINE AND MEDICINE BE THY FOOD

My wish for you is to Live Better, Strive Harder, Be Bolder, Dream Bigger, Climb Higher and Seek Greater.
My vision is to help people create food that is delicious, easy to make and high in nutrition,
so that food once more becomes a vehicle to fuel your body, mind and soul.

Easy Peasy Chocolate Bark

By , June 15, 2024

‘One bite is all it takes’

I made this for my mother-in-law in lieu of a birthday cake. This is because it is quick and doesn’t have many ingredients, as well as the fact that she LOVES chocolate.

This is a fun dish to make with kids as it is easy, and they can customize it to their own taste.

If you use dark chocolate, nuts, seeds and dried fruit, you could classify it as healthy. You might even add a sprinkle of salt flakes.

Dark Chocolate – A 100g bar of dark chocolate with 70-85% cocoa contains, 11g of fiber, 66% DV (daily value) of iron, 57% DV magnesium, 196% copper and 85% DV of manganese. In addition, there is plenty of potassium, zinc and selenium. Dark chocolate is loaded with bioactive antioxidants, including polyphenols and flavanols.

Ingredients

  • 12oz dark chocolate (70% plus)
  • ¾ cup raw nuts/seeds
  • ¼ cup dried fruit/pretzels

Method

  • Melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. You can also use a heat-proof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water (my preferred method)
  • Cover a baking tray with parchment
  • Once the chocolate is melted, pour it onto the paper, spread evenly and sprinkle on your chosen toppings
  • Place into the freezer for a minimum of 15 minutes
  • Take out and cut into triangle
  • This is tempered chocolate so shouldn’t melt at room temperature
  • Place in a storage box with parchment between each layer

Japchae (GF, Veg)

By , June 8, 2024

‘Fill your plate with the colours of the rainbow. What pleases the eye, pleases the body’

I wanted to try a new dish for my little, slowly integrating differentiated foods and was craving a good gluten free noodle dish. I cooked the veggies individually for little as he doesn’t like it when they are all mixed and spends a lot of time picking them out, but I’m never sure which one he will choose.

Japchae is a Korean dish, typically prepared with dangmyeon, a see-through noodle made of sweet potato starch, the noodles are mixed with assorted vegetables, meat and mushrooms and seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil. Here I used tamari instead of soy sauce making the dish gluten free. Japchae literally translates to mixed vegetables, so I stayed true to the original and kept this as a vegetarian dish.

Little loved them so much, he slurped the whole bowl down.  

Ingredients

For the noodles

  • 4 ounces sweet potato noodles
  • 2 tbsp. tamari
  • 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp. maple syrup

For the vegetables

  • 1 large egg (yolk only)
  • 10 shiitake mushrooms
  • 1 cup carrots, cut into matchsticks
  • 1 cup of broccoli cut into small florets
  • 1 cup of asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 tbsp. tamari
  • 2 tbsp. maple syrup

Method

  • Add the sweet potato noodles to a pot of boiling water, mix every few minutes to stop them sticking. Let soak for 5-7 minutes or until soft. Drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking.
  • Add the tamari, sesame oil and maple syrup. Set aside.
  • Separate the egg to yolk only, add a dash of salt. Wisk. Add a little oil to the pan, add the egg and spread out. Switch the heat off, let cook for 1-minute and then flip. Let cool and cut into strips.
  • Next add a little oil and stir-fry the rest of the vegetables, adding the tamari and maple syrup. Cook until the vegetables are cooked through.
  • Mix into the noodles, with the egg and serve warm or cold.

Agua Fresca (DF, V)

By , May 29, 2024

‘If the ambiance is right, you’ll get high on a mocktail’

The term ‘Agua Fresca’ may be directly translated into fresh water, but that phrase does not fully convey the delicious nature of this drink. The origin of the drink dates to the Aztecs when it was made with seasonal fruits and flowers.

I found this in my favorite magazine, the Waitrose food magazine, a supermarket periodical that I ask my family to pick up for me to read. They always have interesting ways to use seasonal produce.

You can vary the sugar syrup to your taste. Mine came out a little darker as I used brown sugar. You could also make a sugar syrup with agave (I will do this in a fruit version soon).

From a health perspective this is a good way to get a concentrated amount of mint into your diet. Mint oil is known to improve digestion, it is used as a nature antibacterial and antiseptic. Mint has also known to have a positive effect on brain function, helping increase alertness and memory capabilities.

Ingredients

  • 150g caster sugar
  • 1 large cucumber (c. 500-600g)
  • 25g mint leaves
  • 50ml fresh lime juice (2-3 limes)
  • Ice to serve

Method

  • Put the sugar and 150ml water in a small pan, heat and let the sugar dissolve, 3 mins. Remove from the heat and let cool. This is your sugar syrup.
  • Peel the cucumber and cut into 2-inch cubes, add to the blender
  • Add the mint leaves (leaving a few for garnish). Blend until smooth, adding a little water if needed.
  • Strain through a sieve. Add the sugar syrup and lime

Clementine Zucchini Popsicle (DF, V)

By , May 25, 2024

‘Keep your face towards the sunshine – and the shadows will fall behind you’

This is a simple, delicious recipe. You can make it as a popsicle, sorbet or a smoothie. It’s sweet and the zucchini is so mild that you won’t taste it. It’s a great way of getting veggies into your little in the summer, without them quite noticing.

Yield: 12 medium popsicles

Ingredients

  • 5-6 clementines (roughly 1lb)
  • 1 whole zucchini, peeled
  • ¾ cup coconut milk, plus more if needed
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Method

  • Peel the clementines and separate into segments
  • Cut the zucchini into ½ inch pieces
  • Place both onto a parchment lined paper and freeze for 4 hours
  • Place the frozen segments into a food processor and process until crumbly, scrape the sides down
  • Add the coconut milk, maple syrup and vanilla and process until creamy, adding more coconut milk if needed to get a smooth texture
  • Transfer to your popsicle mold and freeze for at least 4 hours

Broccoli and asparagus soup (DF, V)

By , April 29, 2024

‘The deepest roots, never doubt spring will come’.

Spring has so many connotations. It is a time when the earth and our bodies wake up from the long winter dream. It is a time when everything comes back to life. This season in Ayurveda is associated with Kapha and heaviness. It is common for our bodies to struggle with transitioning from one season to another and for us to feel blocked and lethargic in the process. It is common to see seasonal allergies and colds rear their heads as the body awakes.

It is therefore helpful to be kind to our bodies. One way to do this is to eat nourishing, detoxifying, light foods. We often cook soups in the spring for that reason, although western cultures tend to associate this with winter.

This soup is full of tasty goodness. Broccoli, asparagus, and fennel are a great combination with none of the vegetables dominating the taste. If you are not vegetarian, you can consider using chicken broth instead of vegetable broth. If you are vegan, use EVOO instead of ghee.

If you’d like to make it creamier add taro (my preference from an ayurvedic standpoint) or potato. You could also add cashew, almond cream.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp. ghee or EVOO
  • 1 fennel bulb (bottom, stem removed, small dice)
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed.
  • 1-inch of ginger, grated
  • 1lb broccoli (rough chop)
  • 1lb asparagus (hard ends removed, rough chop)
  • 6 cups vegetable stock
  • 2 tbsp. lemon juice (optional)
  • ½ tsp. salt

Method

  • Heat a medium pot on a low heat and add the ghee.
  • When melted, add the garlic, ginger, fennel and a pinch of salt and cook on a low heat till the fennel starts to soften
  • Add the broccoli and asparagus and mix till coated in the olive oil, garlic mixture.
  • Add the stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer for 15 minutes.
  • After 15 minutes, the veggies will be soft. Remove from the heat.
  • Once cooled a little blend with an immersion blender.
  • Serve with herbs of your liking, black pepper/chilli flakes, a drizzle of olive oil and or some young feta or goat’s cheese.

Pistachio Pecan Cookies (DF, V)

By , April 6, 2024

‘When she smiled, the lines in her face became epic narratives that traced the stories of generations that no book could replace’.

It’s my grandmothers 100th birthday today. She passed 7 years ago, but it feels like yesterday. She taught me how to love unconditionally, to open your arms kitchen and home and to laugh every day, especially at yourself. I’ll never stop learning from her, no matter how long she is physically gone.

She loved pistachios and so when I saw this recipe so close to her birthday, I knew that it was the inspiration I needed to make something just for her.

The original recipe that these cookies were adapted from my friend Kate Ray, she has an amazing food blog, which had innovative recipes and amazing foodie interviews. Please check her out. (https://kateray.substack.com)

Ingredients

  • 125g pistachios
  • 50g pecans
  • 28g (2 tbsp) coconut oil, melted.
  • 100g refined almond flour.
  • 140g brown sugar.
  • 75g gluten free flour (Bob’s red mill)
  • ¼ cup non-dairy milk
  • ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. baking soda

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 375F.
  • Toast the nuts for around 5 minutes, if you start to smell them you have gone too far, and the oils have started to come out.
  • Let them cool and add to a food processor. Pulse until starting to break up.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients and process until they form an even dough.
  • Divide into 12 balls, place on a baking tray and place in the fridge to firm for 10-15 minutes.
  • Once the dough is firm, press them down with a fork in a crisscross pattern.
  • Sprinkle some flaky salt on top, this is a great contrast to the sweetness of the cookie. I had some smoked salt, which I used.
  • Bake for 15 minutes and let cool on the tray, they will firm up more as they cool.

Scallion Pie Empanada (DF, V)

By , March 28, 2024

Yield: 8-10

‘The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you are hungry again’.

Easter isn’t Easter in Puglia without Scallion Pie. The traditional pie is unleavened, with a dough made of white wine and olive oil, like Taralli. I made the traditional version during quarantine, and you can see the video on You Tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVXT5WvAVBk

This version is easier as you use premade puff pastry. It makes for a lovely flaky crust. It is like an empanada or as my father-in-law noted a panzerotti. If you swap in mozzarella and tomato passata instead of the scallion mixture, that is what you will make.

I made them for my father-in-law, and I have never seen him eat anything so quickly, so I guess that means ‘bravo’. Little nibbled on the panzerotti version but doesn’t like puff pastry, so Mr. B got his plate full.

Ingredients

  • 4 bunches of scallions
  • 1/3 cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup chopped black olives.
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 2 sheets of puff pastry, defrosted.
  • 1 egg plus 1 tsp. water, whisked.

Method

  • Prepare the scallions by cleaning them, washing them, and cutting into 1.5-inch pieces.
  • In a large pot add 3 tbsp. EVOO, add the scallions, salt, olives, and wine and cook for 10-15 minutes until wilted.
  • Place in a bowl and leave to cool.
  • With a little flour, roll out the puff pastry to c. 5mm.
  • Use a cookie cutter to make as many rounds as possible.
  • Add a tbsp. of the cooled scallion mixture to the middle, fold over and use a fork to press down the edges. Use the fork to make some holes.
  • Brush the pastry with the egg mixture
  • Prepare all the pastries.
  • Gather the extra pastry, knead, roll it out and make a few more.
  • Place in the fridge to firm if you have time.
  • When ready to bake, place in a preheated oven at 425F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Double Protein Chocolate Brownie Cake (GF, DF)

By , March 21, 2024

‘No matter where you go, there you are’ Confucius.

We all have challenges. We all go through difficult times. We all deal with constantly changing and sometimes confusing emotions and we all struggle to treat ourselves kindly now and then. This makes us human.

What has this got to do with chocolate cake. Everything and nothing at all.

My theory in food is that you don’t have to give up everything you love to be healthy. You just need to learn a different way of having what you love. A different way of ‘treating’ yourself. This brownie cake that I adapted from ‘I quit sugar’ is a beautiful example of that.

There isn’t a single ingredient that would be deemed ‘unhealthy’ or would lead to a Glycaemic Index spike. In fact, most of the ingredients, have a vitamin or mineral benefit that is good for your health.

Rice malt syrup is probably a new ingredient to all of you. IQS uses it almost exclusively as it is a blend of complex carbohydrates and so a slower releasing sweetener versus pure glucose. Even then there isn’t much added.

Feel free to add vanilla extract, orange zest or a sprinkle of nuts.

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup melted coconut oil
  • 200g almond meal
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. sea salt
  • 100g dark chocolate
  • ½ cup sunflower butter
  • ¼ cup rice malt syrup
  • ¼ cup raw cacao

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 350F.
  • Line a 20x20cm tine with baking parchment.
  • Melt half the chocolate in a bowl.
  • Chop the remaining half into chunks.
  • In a bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, rice malt syrup, melted chocolate and sunflower butter (you can use almond or peanut if preferred).
  • Beat the eggs and whisk them in.
  • Fold in almond meal, cacao, baking powder, sea salt and the remaining chocolate chunks.
  • Press the mixture into the lined tin.
  • Bake in the oven for 30 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Let cool and cut into small squares.

Tiella Barese (Italian Rice and Potatoes)(GF)

By , March 17, 2024

‘Every bite takes you home’.

My best friend asked my now husband how excited he was to be marrying a chef. His answer was that he believed food was fuel and nothing much else. She questioned if I was marrying the right man. Ten years later, he drops recipes on my desk from the guardian, no less, and is more of a food critic than I am.   

I guess even if you don’t think you are a foodie, food can be your connection to so many things long forgotten. A memory from your childhood, from a holiday, a date, or from your own learning of success and failure. For me it is all of those and for my husband I guess it is one or two also.

This recipe is from his hometown in Puglia, Bari. It normally has mussels in it, but he requested it to be without. So, we ended up with a lovely vegetarian dish.

Ingredients

  • 500g potatoes, peeled and cut into 5mm rounds.
  • 2 large shallots, small dice
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 250g cherry tomatoes, halved.
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • EVOO
  • 100g pecorino
  • A handful of minced parsley
  • 150ml of vegetable stock
  • 200g carnaroli rice

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 425F.
  • Soak the potatoes in a bowl of cold water for 20 minutes.
  • In a bowl mix the tomatoes, garlic, salt and two tablespoons of olive oil.
  • In another, mix the cheese and parsley.
  • Drain and dry the potatoes and rinse the rice till the water turns clear.
  • Select a deep ovenproof dish.
  • Start by scattering a quarter of the tomato, onion mix on the base of the dish. Next use half the potatoes to make a spiral layer, then zigzag with olive oil. Follow with another quarter of the tomato mix, a third of the cheese and another zigzag of oil. Sprinkle over the rice then top with another quarter of the tomato mix and then the cheese mix, then zigzag again with olive oil. Pour the stock across the dish. Make a final layer of potatoes, fish with the remaining tomatoes and cheese and a final zigzag of oil.
  • Bake for 30 minutes covered with foil and another 15 uncovered so the top browns a little
  • Leave it to rest for 20 minutes. The rice will continue to cook and soak up the liquid in this time.

French Lentil Salad (DF, GF)

By , March 4, 2024

‘The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes’ Marcel Proust

This quote is dedicated to all those who watched the Netflix series ‘you are what you eat: a twin experiment’. The series documents the results of identical genetic twins as they change their diet and lifestyle over a period of just 8 weeks. The series reflects how a plant-based diet when compared to an omnivorous diet can change your gut health, health statistics like LDL cholesterol and even lengthen your telomere’s (an indicator of longevity).

It provoked a lot of new subscribers and questions about adding more plant-based meals. I am here to help, please feel free to contact me and let me know how I can support you.

I had a version of this French lentil salad in the French countryside at my friends pre-wedding event at his family’s house. It was so delicious; it was addictive.

The great thing about this simple recipe is that you can use different vegetables, so it is great for reducing food waste and you can dial up and down the dressing strength for littles and not so littles alike.

French lentils are a great lentil to use in salads as they are a little tough, so stand up texturally. Due to this feature, they need a little more cooking than some lentils, around 40 minutes or so, versus beluga for example that take 20.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup French/green lentils
  • ¼ cup EVOO (*Ellouze 1870)
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed.
  • 1 tbsp. maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup diced cucumber.
  • 1 cup diced carrots.
  • 1 cup diced celery.
  • ½ cup chopped nuts of choice
  • 1 cup chopped fresh herbs (optional)

Method

  • Cook lentils according to package instructions. E.g. rinse and cook for 40 minutes with a bay leaf or until the lentils are tooth tender.
  • Mix the EVOO, lemon juice, garlic, maple, syrup, mustard, and seasoning. Whisk together and pour over the lentils whilst warm.
  • Once cooled, add the rest of the ingredients and toss
  • Taste and add seasoning to taste.

*Ellouze 1870. Since the olive oil is a larger feature in this recipe, I used Ellouze 1870, available online in the UK. It is a premium olive oil crafted through a meticulous process, using organic farming methods with no use of chemicals or fertilizers. This company was founded by some dear friends and has been in the family for generations.

www.ellouze1870.com